


Storm

by noyabeans (snowdrops)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Experimental Style, Gen, Interlude, Introspection, M/M, Shippy Gen, Training Camp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/noyabeans
Summary: Tetsurou makes a habit out of riling people up, of getting under someone’s skin and finding out what makes them tick and what sets them off. But there is something about Karasuno's libero that he can't quite place his finger on.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Nishinoya Yuu, who deserves all the love and nothing but the best.
> 
>  **"Life's a bore if you don't challenge yourself."**  
>  \- Nishinoya Yuu, Haikyuu!! chapter 228

Tetsurou makes a habit of riling people up, of getting under someone’s skin and finding out what makes them tick and what sets them off.

Some people are easier to read than others: Yaku, for one, always sputters in indignancy when Tetsurou makes some passing remark about his height, though Tetsurou, for his part, doesn’t intentionally provoke Yaku anymore now that they’re in their third year. Captainship comes with certain sacrifices, after all, and Kuroo only does what is best for his team (Yaku begs to differ, but Yaku disagrees with him on everything just on account of him being Yaku anyway).

Besides, it’s way more interesting to find new targets to incense, and he finds his chance when they meet Karasuno at the summer training camp. Karasuno, however, comes with a few mysteries.

For one, their tall middle blocker Tsukishima is a closed book who carries with him an air of untouchability. He reminds Tetsurou of Kenma, really. Tetsurou considers himself good at reading other people, so it surprises him when he accidentally _does_ anger the first-year while discussing his rivalry with the tiny one. He’d just been searching for a weak link and hadn’t expected to find it so easily.

But the one from Karasuno who really intrigues Tetsurou isn’t Tsukishima. It’s their libero.

Yaku told him about Noya’s receiving skills and how passionate Noya is about volleyball after their first practice match together, which is saying something considering who _Yaku_ is - giving compliments has never been easy for Yaku, and him praising a libero from a rival team is almost unheard of.

Even so, he knows little about Noya. They barely meet off the court: the most interaction they have is in the canteen, where Noya tends to take triple servings, much to his seniors’ chagrin. All he knows is that Noya is spirited and always full of energy, and apparently pretty bad at academics or staying serious for long, if his strange antics with Karasuno’s resident buzzcut and his friendship with Taketora are anything to go by

But Tetsurou isn’t Tetsurou if not observant, and he can tell from the way Noya falls silent while the rest of the team is in ruckus, that somewhere below the unruly clamour, there is some part deeper. The question is: what exactly?

He’s watching Karasuno play against Shinzen during Nekoma’s break, when Karasuno loses four points consecutively and their plays start to fall apart. It’s then that he hears Noya shout a word, _Breathe_ , and with that one word, the tension weighing heavy over the group lightens somewhat, and Mr. Buzzcut manages to take a point back from Shinzen. Much to Tetsurou’s amusement, their celebration of the point consists of whoops and yells and Noya jumping on the wing spiker’s shoulders as though they’ve just hit the jackpot.

 _Interesting_ , Tetsurou can’t help but think just as his thoughts are broken by a soft kick to the shin from Yaku, who follows his gaze and asks, “So what do you think about Karasuno that you feel the need to stare at them so hard?”

Tetsurou allows his lips to curl into a lazy smirk and raises his chin to the court. “Just checking out their captain,” he says. Yaku snorts and rolls his eyes, evidently not buying his story - Yaku stopped falling for Tetsurou’s tales a long time ago, and this time he doesn’t seem interested in playing along, so Tetsurou drops the subject, and instead continues a moment later, “What do you think of their libero?”

A look of confusion flits over Yaku’s face at the sudden change in topic. “Noya? I’ve told you about him before, haven’t I?”

“Yup, but you only told me about his skills as a libero,” Tetsurou says, eyes returning to the court. Noya’s form is perfect, almost rivalling Yaku’s, as he receives a serve from Shinzen’s captain. “What kind of person is he?”

Yaku frowns up at him. “Are you going to try and provoke him like you did their middle blocker?”

“You read me too well,” Tetsurou admits easily with a laugh as he flicks his hair out of his eyes. “C’mon, Yakkun, I’m just curious. I’m not going to break him or anything.”

“Did you have to put it like that?” the other huffs with a roll of his eyes, from where he stands by Tetsurou’s elbow. “He’s… intense. He can swallow you up if you’re not careful.”

* * *

That night, Tetsurou is walking down to the courtyard when he sees a small figure sitting alone on a bench, still and looking upwards. His first thought is concern that there’s a lost boy in a high school alone late at night and that he should probably get one of the coaches, but then the figure turns around at the sound of his footsteps, and Tetsurou recognizes him.

“Yo, Karasuno’s libero,” he greets.

The other returns the greeting with a smile, then adds drily, “My name’s Nishinoya.”

“I thought you were a lost boy when I saw you from the back,” Tetsurou confesses with a smirk, not at all guilty as he waits for the explosion he is sure will happen. He’s messed enough with Yaku to know how this part of the conversation will go down. True to form, Noya reacts as if thoroughly insulted, but the way he looks like a middle-schooler with his hair down takes away most of the scariness from his expression.

But with that, the awkwardness of a first meeting dissipates quickly, in part because Tetsurou has never been one to be shy when talking to unfamiliar people and Noya is probably the kind of person who would befriend the strangers he meets on the streets while out for a morning run.  

Conversation turns to wherever Noya’s train of thought goes, which Tetsurou realizes is even more haphazard than he’d expected - in a matter of minutes, they’re talking about a variety of topics from arcade games to the teams’ progress to their journey up to Tokyo by van.

“The stars are brighter in Miyagi,” Noya says midway through a comment about how cool Tokyo is. He’s looking up at the sky again, just like he had been when Tetsurou first approached him. “I like to look at them when I’m staying over in school for camps.”

“There’s more light pollution in Tokyo,” Tetsurou explains wryly.

Noya hums softly in agreement, and suddenly Tetsurou realizes he’s bearing witness to a side of Noya that not many people have apparently seen. It might be the chill of the night air and the stillness of the whole place, but Noya isn’t as boisterous as Tetsurou remembers thinking him to be.

Instead, he is, like Yaku said, intense. Passionate, steady and confident. Tetsurou can tell, just from the way that Noya’s voice lilts with every word he says and the evident pride that overflows from him.

It doesn’t deter him from wanting to try provoking the libero anyway. It’s evident that Noya sees himself as a major pillar for the team, and Tetsurou is curious to see how he reacts to criticism.

“Isn’t your team a bit on the weak side?” he asks, matter-of-factly. He’s heard that Noya’s from one of the top middle school volleyball teams, so he’s definitely more than aware of what constitutes a strong  team. Karasuno is good, but their receives are lacking, as are their serves. They specialize more in raw attack power than anything else.

Noya looks at him, eyes sharp and piercing, and Tetsurou suddenly understands why Yaku said “he can swallow you up if you’re not careful”. He feels intimidated, almost as though Noya is searching _him_ instead of the other way around, and for a moment wonders if he’s bitten off more than he can chew this time. Has he irrevocably destroyed whatever tentative friendship he’d built up with the libero?

Then, in yet another unpredictable turn of events, Noya laughs. It’s a sincere laugh, and there’s no anger or bitterness anywhere in his tone, no hint that he’s taken offense to the comment.

“Yeah, we’re not as good as you guys, of course,” he says in way of explanation. “But that’s why we have so much more room to grow, don’t we?”

His calmness is surprising, but Tetsurou thinks back to what he knows of Noya, and he thinks he shouldn’t be. He’s already discovered that Noya takes learning as a journey and never blames his team for their shortcomings, instead encouraging them to improve together.  

“Yeah,” Tetsurou concedes, then adds honestly, “Karasuno’s lucky to have you watching their backs.”

“Thanks, but Morisuke-kun’s still much better,” Noya replies with a small laugh. “I saw that save he made in your match against Ubugawa earlier. I don’t think I would have been able to save it.”

His words bring to mind Yaku’s own praise of Noya, and Tetsurou wonders if all liberos are just hell-bent on not acknowledging their own abilities. Noya’s gaze grows distant then, and Tetsurou remembers that he’d spotted Noya trying out a new move during one of their practice matches, but he’d missed and the ball had fallen out of bounds before he could come into contact with it.

“I saw you trying to toss the ball earlier,” he says. “Is that your new hidden weapon?”

Noya lights up, and gives Tetsurou a huge grin. “Yup! Seijou’s libero did tosses during the Inter-High, so I thought I’d try to pick it up. It’s difficult, angling the ball the correct way and tossing it with the right amount of strength. Kageyama and Suga have been really patient, but it’s so frustrating especially when it ends up with us wasting points.”

His expression sombres again, and Tetsurou marvels at how quickly his mood changes - it’s reminiscent of Bokuto’s, only calmer; briefly he wonders how Akaashi would react to the enigma that is Noya but puts it out of his mind when Noya speaks. “There’s still so much I need to do, though. My block follow-ups are still pretty weak, and if I can’t toss it puts more strain on Kageyama, especially since we’re trying new moves as a team, and I can’t just sit around when the whole team is growing.”

The look in Noya’s eyes is back again, a blazing fire, and Tetsurou can’t help but to feel impressed by how determined Noya is. He recognizes the hunger in Noya’s voice - to be ever better and stronger, to go above and beyond expectations that he’s set for himself and not stopping anytime before, to never settle, even though by all accords he already is a strong player.

Slightly awed, Tetsurou looks at Noya with newfound respect. He’s never really put much thought into how much strength a libero possesses, but he thinks Noya has shown him how a body as small as his, covered with bruises, can carry the weight of a whole team.

But the moment passes, and Noya leaps to his feet.

“I’ll get going first before Chikara comes looking for me. Nice talking to you, cat captain!”

He gives Tetsurou an earnest bow, and is jogging off in the direction of the dormitory even before Tetsurou can answer.

Tetsurou stays on the bench a while longer, looking out across the courtyard, contemplative. In the end, there was no need for him to try getting under Noya's skin - the other wears his emotions on his sleeves and his honesty rolls off him in waves regardless of situation. All he had to do was just look closer, and he would have recognised that Noya is a storm. He is like lightning: unpredictable, bright and so fast that one can never quite prepare for him, and he is something like a whirlwind, breathtaking through sheer force of existence.

But Tetsurou also knows that every whirlwind eventually becomes a gentle breeze, a calm, collected presence that surrounds everything else; quiet, but always there.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to do a character study on Nishinoya ever since I first saw him in the anime, but never quite figured out how to go about doing it. Nishinoya's a really complex character, but I feel like many times we overlook his more serious self in favour of the loud, hyperactive teenager - he is neither one nor the other, he is simultaneously both. 
> 
> So naturally, I jumped at the idea to write about Nishinoya from Kuroo's perspective, because Kuroo is one of the most observant characters in the Haikyuu!! cast and he'd definitely be able to pick out the sides of Nishinoya that others would miss on first glance.
> 
> I wrote this a few days ago, but it seems fitting to post this up after chapter 228, where we finally got to see that elusive serious side of Nishinoya! 
> 
> (On another note: it seems impossible for me to leave Yaku out of this. I think my shipping bias is showing. Also, this is the first standalone Kuronoya on AO3 (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*) 
> 
> Thank you to Kiwi, Elly, Gunny and J for helping me read through this, and thank you for reading! A kudos or a comment would be great.
> 
> Scream with me about Nishinoya here:  
> [tumblr](https://rielity.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/noyabeans)


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